Recommended by Franky D. Gonzalez

Sartre declared in NO EXIT that "Hell is other people" and that may well be. Death Defying seems a response to that premise. Hell may be other people, but at the same time other people can be your salvation, even indirectly. Kaplan places us in a unique place that is both fantastical and mundane, where histories meet, and the memories we take with us to the hereafter are the only currency worth dealing in. and at the end of the play shows us the depth of human kindness in the face of less than stellar circumstances. A heartwarming play.

A conversation that takes on supernatural dimensions and frightening prescience. Carnes goes back and forth using people talking about the things you'd expect a couple with a baby to talk about and a mysterious man who seems to observe, perhaps guide, people past the moment after a tragedy. This play is a puzzle and bears repeated readings. The description tells everything, and leaves you with questions. Are they protected? What came after? Definitely invokes reflection.

After all time has passed, the heroes and learners of history have only ever been these characters. How we choose to remember our loved ones in the face of their all-too-human imperfections is how myths and legends are created and how love expresses itself. It's not easy to find out that the titans of our lives are not what we made them to be, but Hageman is able to let her characters retain dignity in their flawed state. A tender play with a rhythm that reflects the arc of family histories and personal tragedies buried under stories of triumph.

A tender and melancholic play that explores the grief, forgiveness, and the consequences we deal with in the face of loss and unspoken love. It's a wonderful play containing lifetimes of emotions within the pages. You'll be taken in and go on this journey and on the other side will be grateful to have read it.

This is one of those kinds of scripts that you want to see performed purely because the technical elements involved would make it must-see theatre. Beyond that however are the realistic moments two people share in the hour of crisis. The dialogue, the panic, the resolution, and all the elements are here to make a compelling play and a rewarding experience for everyone involved (audiences, actors, technicians, and directors alike) should it ever be produced.

A quiet reflection on life, the mystery of death, and the ultimate place of love in the face of life's misfortunes and tragedies. Bringing past and present together, imagining fantastic scenes and recalling sobering histories, Burbano invites us to a conversation that is at once very personal and "slice-of-life" yet global in its implication and thought process. A meditative piece, this is one of those plays that you'll find yourself contemplating for longer than it took you to read the script. Ultimately, that's the mark of a great play. Read it and take it all in. A wonderful play.

Bublitz leads us one way and swerves us into an entirely different direction in this short, human, and ultimately tragic play. There are matters and debates to be had and there is a lot of posturing and competition to be the one to get one over on the opposition, and Bublitz completely encapsulates the state of our national dialogue in her two debaters but she brings a sobering and necessary wake-up call to America. While time-consuming debates and loopholes are bandied about, lives are still being lost and we are ultimately responsible for not bringing action more effectively. Very thought-provoking.

Part Rashomon-effect story, part critique of a segment of our society, and part twist ending. Lawing is able to condense massive ideas and generations of pain and suffering into insular moments at the crossroads of a person's life. Whether it's facing death, discovering faith, remembering the past, or seeking to save self and family, Lawing brings it all together seamlessly in these three monologues connected by one tragic incident. A fast read but one that has ideas that leave you excited for more of this playwright's fascinating style of theatrical writing.

Many who write about this subject will write with an eye toward the nostalgia and beauty of the person as they were. These plays, I have noticed, tend to become stereotypical melancholy pieces or tender plays which speaks to the playwright's emotional/personal investment in the subject. Greg Burdick takes a contrasting approach and looks at the play from the viewpoint of the present. He explores the frustrations and the immense pressure placed on a spouse who serves as a caregiver. Burdick pulls no punches and takes an otherwise tired subject and brings us into immediacy and the highest stakes.

We have one--ONE!!--shameful relationship where we are left wondering how we let this individual stay in our lives. Asher has answered that question with this hilarious and shameless monologue that leaves you squirming and laughing. Asher's talent shines once more in the short form as he teaches us all about the economy of language and how to wring dialogue and conversation even from a monologue. He leaves you wanting more, and luckily he has a whole list of things we can read and enjoy as much as SLOB.